Preventing heart attacks by targeting the immune system22 December 2009More than 300 people die of a heart attack each day and research has shown there is a peak in heart attacks on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day due perhaps to rich meals, alcohol and stress. A new British Heart Foundation (BHF) grant of £715,000 has been awarded to Professor Andrew Newby at the Bristol Heart Institute, to find out if harmful sub-types of immune cells cause more heart attacks.

Art film completes university centenary18 December 2009Bristol University has rounded off its centenary celebrations by launching a unique video artwork that combines high technology with tradition and will help carry the university’s name around the world.

New insight into the defective protein that causes cystic fibrosis18 December 2009A team of researchers at the University of Bristol studying the protein that, when defective or absent, causes cystic fibrosis (CF) has made an important discovery about how that protein is normally controlled and under what circumstances it might go awry.

Hope for the innocent?16 December 2009The role of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) — the independent public body set up to investigate possible miscarriages of justice — is questioned in a new book launched today [16 Dec] at a reception hosted by David Lammy, Minister of State for Higher Education, at the House of Commons in London.

2.6 million adults experience social exclusion16 December 2009Research for the Cabinet Office by Dr Eldin Fahmy from the Centre for the Study of Poverty and Social Justice in the School for Policy Studies indicates that 16 per cent of working-age adults without children over the age of 25 – or 2.6 million people – experience multiple forms of social exclusion at any one point in time.

Bristol’s answer to Brussels15 December 2009The European Commission recently highlighted the need for good English-language translators and this year over 40 new postgraduates at the University are rising to the challenge by taking an online master’s degree in translation.

Saving the Greenland ice sheet15 December 2009Climate geoengineering may help maintain the Greenland ice sheet by reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth’s surface which in turn would cool the climate, despite rising CO2 levels.

Inspiring future engineers and scientists14 December 2009Eighty-five secondary school students will take part in hands-on activities, based on projects developed by industry, at the University of Bristol this week [14 to 16 December].

Vaccine study underway to combat meningitis14 December 2009Scientists at the University of Bristol have embarked on a ground-breaking study to help protect people from the killer disease meningitis. Volunteers will be given a vaccination and then the reaction of the immune system in the back of their throats will be analysed as part of a wider project to reduce cases of the disease.

Leverhulme grant for Widening Participation study14 December 2009A research group set up jointly by the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England (UWE) to study aspects of widening participation in education has been awarded a Research Project Grant by the Leverhulme Trust

Churchill’s only surviving child visits the University14 December 2009On Saturday [12 December], Lady Soames, Winston Churchill’s youngest and last surviving child, attended a commemorative event in Wills Hall at the University to mark the 80th anniversary of the official opening of the Hall by her father in December 1929, following his installation as Chancellor.

Born too early: a scientist’s view14 December 2009The UK has the highest rate of premature birth in Western Europe, one in 14 births are premature. A traumatic occurrence, the costs to both society and the NHS are high, however thanks to University of Bristol researchers, significant progress is being made into determining the often unknown factors associated with the development of pre-term birth.

CMPO to research the economic impact of the 'third sector'9 December 2009A new research initiative on the economic impact of the 'third sector' (non-governmental voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals), based in the Centre for Market and Public Organisation (CMPO) at the University, will be launched today.

New Head for Bristol’s Vet School8 December 2009A veterinarian, who is a research expert on the functional adaptation and regeneration of bone in humans and animals, has been appointed as the new head of Bristol University’s Veterinary School and Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

Further discoveries at Bristol's Royal Fort8 December 2009More secrets of Bristol’s Royal Fort, one of the most significant fortifications from the English Civil War, have been uncovered by archaeologists from Bristol and Region Archaeological Services working on the site behind the University of Bristol’s H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory.

Bristol postdoc shares in high-performance computing prize7 December 2009Dr Rio Yokota, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mathematics, was part of the team who won a prestigious prize at an international conference for high-performance computing, networking, storage and analysis.

Hot Planet7 December 2009A new documentary exploring the world’s leading climate scientists’ vision of our planet’s future airs this week on BBC One. Presented by Professor Kathy Sykes from the University of Bristol, the programme ‘Hot Planet’ takes a timely look at global warming during this month’s Copenhagen summit.

Cyber hacking could be a thing of the past7 December 2009Academics from Bristol University’s Department of Computer Science will present three papers on the theory and application of cryptology and information security at the ASIACRYPT conference in Tokyo this week.

Earth's temperature more sensitive to carbon dioxide than previously thought6 December 2009In the long term, the Earth’s temperature may be 30-50 per cent more sensitive to atmospheric carbon dioxide than has previously been estimated, reports a new study published in Nature Geoscience this week. The results show that components of the Earth’s climate system that vary over long timescales – such as land-ice and vegetation – have an important effect on this temperature sensitivity, but these factors are often neglected in current climate models.

The role of science and art in understanding the world4 December 2009Nobel prize winner, Sir Paul Nurse, will give a free public lecture at the University tonight [4 December] with Arts Director, Siân Ede, exploring how science and art can contribute to our understanding of the world around us.

Dr Bhalotra appointed to WHO Scientific Group3 December 2009Dr Sonia Bhalotra from the Department of Economics has been appointed to a new Scientific Resource Group on Health Equity Analysis and Research at the World Health Organisation.

‘Bride-price’ in Uganda has negative impact on women3 December 2009A new report on the impact of ‘bride-price’ in Uganda highlights a range of negative effects that the practice has on women’s lives. A common practice in African countries, whereby material goods or money are paid by a groom to a bride’s family upon their marriage, the practice can result in abuse and impoverishment for a woman if she does not fulfil her ‘value’ to the marriage or attempts to leave.

Picasso, Chagall and Matisse at The Bristol Gallery3 December 2009A spectacular three-week-only Christmas exhibition celebrating the work of three great artists of the twentieth century, Picasso, Chagall and Matisse, opens at the Bristol Gallery on Saturday 5 December. The exhibition has been researched by three students from the Department of History of Art: Holly Lopez, Cicely Robinson and Natalie Taylor.

Bristol academic named dentist teacher of the year2 December 2009Susan Hooper, a consultant senior lecturer in the University of Bristol’s Dental School, has been named dentist teacher of the year by the Dental Defence Union (DDU), beating off stiff competition from the most talented and motivated teachers at the thirteen other dental schools in the UK.

Why a short run is better than a long walk2 December 2009Using the latest technology, researchers from Bristol and Bath are uncovering evidence of exactly how major a role activity plays in the battle to keep obesity at bay. In new report published in the BMJ, scientists have shown that it’s the type of exercise you do, rather than the amount, that’s most important.